Cup joy marred by Mirallas setback

Everton's dramatic, late victory at Bolton was tarnished by another injury setback for Kevin Mirallas who was withdrawn after just 17 minutes with what appeared to be a recurrence of his hamstring injury.

Speaking after the match, David Moyes played down the severity of the injury, suggesting that his substitution was precautionary, but his refrain was similar last month and the Belgian spent six weeks out of action.

"It's his hamstring," Moyes said, "but we don't think it's as bad as we thought. We missed him after he went off. He helps our flow."

Mirallas has spent much of his first season at Goodison on the sidelines after tearing his hamstring against Sunderland in early November.

Since then, Mirallas has not managed more than 45 minutes of action without suffering a relapse, as he did against Tottenham a month later.

After seeing a specialist in Germany and rehabilitating for a further six weeks, the 25 year-old appeared to be over the problem when he made a successful return as a substitute at Southampton last Monday, playing 20 minutes of the Blues' disappointing 0-0 draw.

He had to be substituted again at the Reebok Stadium today, though, and the club will await the results of fresh tests before they know the severity of his latest setback.

Reader Comments

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Zaid Omar 798Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:19:11

Well now it's imperative that we get someone in in the transfer window!! We need more creativity especially down the right AND upfront.... Over to you Bill!!

Danny Moore 800Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:19:21

It's amazing how he has had all these problems. Why do Everton have an injury jinx every season? Teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd don't.... I'm beginning to wonder about our physio's philosophy???

Matt Butlin 802Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:21:41

This is really annoying. Great player but it looks like we've bought a real crock here.

Mike Webb 813Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:41:34

A Greek football fan was on the live forum, and stated that during his time in Greece, Mirallas suffered no significant injury problems, and certainly nothing to do with his hamstring. His appearance stats bear that out. So I don't see how we've signed a crock, Matt Butlin @802?

Danny Moore 815Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:43:35

It must be that Goodison injury jinxing Mirallas then, Mike, not to mention a few.

Nick Entwistle 816Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:41:39

He wasn't crocked in Greece. Shit happens - Twice apparently. For a cup match I'd have just let him be on the bench. But why play a block with poor hams in this weather?

Steavey Buckley 817Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:38:39

Mirallas should not have started today. It is obvious he needs to be eased back into 1st team action. Send for Donovan or someone similar or the season is over. Has Ovoiedo done something wrong to Moyes by using the wrong deodorant? Oviedo looked good against Cheltenham 'till he started to use that deodorant that Moyes does not like, has not played since even as a sub.

Seeing as we are 5th in the Prem and Bolton are 16th in the Championship and it was a freezing day, why did Moyes even play KM????

Brent Stephens 826Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:48:24

Steavey, he was eased back into it - came on in 66th minute in the last game. Seemed ok for the rest of the game, so reasonable to start him today in my view.

Jim Knightley 827Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:48:33

Danny, mate... Arsenal have awful luck with injuries. They lost Rosicky for almost 2 years, after an initial estimate of 3 weeks; lost Eduardo to the horrific leg break, who arguably has never reached previous heights; lost Ramsay to a horrible leg break which seems to have completely ruined his progress; lost Wilshere for near on 18 months; Sagna with two severe injuries; etc etc...

We have had pretty fair luck with injuries over the past couple of seasons, but Mirallas is extremely frustrating. I'm with Nick on this one... given the weather, it seems foolish to have rushed Mirallas back. Whatever the rest say, we should have gone with caution, in view of what happened when we rushed him back last time.

Colin Potter 829Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:45:03

Matt, maybe it's the manager who's crocked bringing Mirallas back too soon. He did it for the Southampton game, and now this one. He just never seems to learn, or is it a case of, he knows best and just doesn't take advice off anyone?

Daniel Heaton 836Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:51:42

So that's the whole right side "right down the shitter"? Early season we looked good as we had an equal threat from each side. Now that Pienaar has gone off the boil too, we are becoming over-dependent on Baines's crossing. We need an extra dimension to our game, but they cost money. Lots of it.

Nick Entwistle 838Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:57:02

He brought Neville back earlier than expected, and we've much needed him. So maybe he did learn his lesson, Colin. Or, as is infinitely more likely, he takes it case by case. Moyes out!

Steavey Buckley 842Posted
26/01/2013 at
17:58:39

Brent Stephens: Mirallas's hamstring injury is a serious injury because it is taking ages to heal. The best advice would be to ease him back into contention. Only using him sparingly as a sub when having to, that's if he ever recovers this season.

Paul Ferry 847Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:02:42

Not as bad it looks, the gaffer said on Radio Merseyside. So, here's hoping. But whatever, this is poor fare. Medics, the gaffer, the player? You have to assume between them they make a decision, I suppose, but they got it wrong today.

Danger is, needles to say, that if this happens again and one more time and one more time after that then KM might really end up a crock. He's class and let's hope that the gaffer's post-match assessment is the right one.

But, who'd start him against the Baggies?

Matt Kearney 848Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:04:37

Look forward to having Mirallas back fresh in April. Urgently need to get someone with pace in to play wide right by end of January.

Lewis Barclay 850Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:01:08

It's ridiculous suggesting this is Moyes's fault. Let's hope he's just tweaked it and will be back in a couple of weeks or less.

Marc Sansum 853Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:11:22

I know next to nothing about being a physio, but have players had bad hamstring injuries before and NOT suffered much again? Or when they go, is that it?

Matt Butlin 854Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:05:18

Hopefully it's just bad luck but some players are prone to injury and just because he didn't have any significant injuries in Greece doesn't mean that he will stand up to the premier league, which is substantially faster.

I think he's arguably our most talented player so I have my fingers crossed but the fee we paid for him was quite low and I just wonder why.

Peter Thistle 855Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:13:04

Why the hell is he playing if he isn't 100%. Baffles me how this keeps happening to Mirallas and Gibson. Leave em out until ready, stop rushing em back.

Brent Stephens 856Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:12:02

Steavey, somebody on TW earlier today said that the surgeon said he was fine.

Mark Tanton 861Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:21:47

Peter they'll continue to be rushed into action because our squad is smaller than almost any club either in the Premier League or Championship. A window of absolutely fuck all strengthening too - stagnant Everton.

Tom Bowers 864Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:22:40

Without Mirallas and also Gibson, Everton have suffered noticeably. None of the bench players have filled in with any credibility but Moyes stubbornly goes with the same favourites. Will he not realise that some of these favourites are no longer good enough and also new aquisitions like Oviedo, Naismith and to a lesser extent Vellios. Why did he buy Oviedo in the first place?

We have on paper and form two relatively winnable games coming up but Everton's own form has dipped alarmingly so nothing will be easy. Just a few more days left to get a loan player but it looks like they have missed the boat this year and this will leave them woefully short of midfield prowess.

Matt Butlin 865Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:31:32

Agreed Tom. Mirallas and Gibson are vital to our push for glory(?) this season. Just a shame that they're both as brittle a bread stick.

John Ford 867Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:26:53

Players lose form players get injured. It's miserable that we can't replace either with any kind of like for like.

I do wonder if the board have got together and discussed whether its worth privately investing in our CL chances this year, or are they content to allow Moyes to keep us as best of the rest?

Kevin Day 871Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:46:43

Moyes is saying KM hasn't suffered a major setback on his hamstring, sounds like he just had a twinge and was taken off as a precaution. Fingers crossed.

Simon Watts 872Posted
26/01/2013 at
18:55:03

Mirallas has never been the same since Suarez was deciding to stamp on peoples hamstrings in the derby. He went off injured in that match. Suarez did the same with Distin after that. Why is that never mentioned. I know they mention Sunderland game but first occurrence was in the derby.

Colin Glassar 890Posted
26/01/2013 at
19:58:22

He shouldn't have been risked IMO. Hope he gets back soon but with our physios I doubt it somehow.

Wayne Smyth 893Posted
26/01/2013 at
19:49:46

Simon(872), those disgusting challenges really annoyed me too, and just like you I did also wonder why the club didn't make more of it.

Lyndon Lloyd 895Posted
26/01/2013 at
20:07:31

Simon, Suarez stamped on Mirallas' foot and raked his studs down Distin's ankle. Neither incident had anything to do with hamstrings.

What really annoys me is that around the same time Mirallas did his hamstring, Gareth Bale did more or less the same thing but worse judging by the way he hopped off the pitch and yet was back playing a fortnight later.

Sods effin' law that we've been denied our most creative player for 3 months of the season already when we're one of the least able teams to cope with it because of the paucity of our squad.

Brian Harrison 901Posted
26/01/2013 at
20:15:09

Really disappointing for both manager and player and fans, Mirallas is a quality player and we will miss him if as seems likely he spends another month out of action. I always worry when players get hamstring injuries, as some players once they start suffer all through their careers. As for bringing him back to soon I am sure both player and and medical staff would have had an input into the decision, also he has been back in training for at least 2 weeks. At some point you have to say he has trained with no ill effect so test it out in a game, despite all the clever medical advice at some point you have to risk playing him. Maybe the cold temp has had an effect, but maybe we might get lucky and he just felt a twinge and decided not to risk playing on and hopefully may be back sooner than we think.

Steavey Buckley 903Posted
26/01/2013 at
20:32:01

Brent Stephens: If the doctor said he is fine, then he was wrong. He is not fine, he has a recurrence for the second time.

Brent Stephens 906Posted
26/01/2013 at
20:40:42

Yes, Steavey, the doctor might in hindsight have been wrong (though we have to wait to see how he, Mirallas, is). But if a doc has said to Moyes, he's ok, then what should Moyes do, given Moyes presumably was keen to ease Mirallas back into it, which is what he's been doing? with him

Trevor Lynes 907Posted
26/01/2013 at
20:37:59

The top teams have injuries but they have strong reserves and can carry these situations without too much form drops.If we had lost and Mirallas was not played there would still have been an outcry.

We cannot carry injuries as well as not only the top 4 but virtually every team in the premiership.We cannot rotate as we have no alternatives good enough as was proved against Leeds when DM got a slating for not playing a stronger side.Magueye played OK for the reserves on his last outing but he cannot make it in the 1st eleven.The same went for Bily and Rodwell thats why the experienced old pro's are continually trotted out.Magueye and Naismith cannot cut it and with Neville ready for his pension we desperately need support from the board.Mirallas is unfortunate but we do not have a good enough alternative.....Face facts.

Robin Cannon 908Posted
26/01/2013 at
20:43:35

@Steve (903) - and there's really no way to predict whether that will happen. There is no equivalent test to a competitive match. Mirallas presumably came through a fitness test, he played for nearly half an hour with no ill-effects against Southampton, so at what point is the doctor "wrong" for saying he's OK to play?

If the argument is that you don't "risk him" then when do you? Do you wait another month and play him in a big game? Thirty minutes against Southampton, a (presumably) planned 45-60 minutes today, that's the kind of "easing him back in" that seems logical.

It's a bugger, but if the substitution was largely precautionary (which is the implication) then hopefully we can continue to see him get some limited playing time in the next couple of weeks as he works back to full match fitness.

James Stewart 913Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:10:01

Agree with Trevor the top teams do have injuries but the difference is they have players of a similar level to step up. We don't. Far from it in fact. There is no replacement for Gibson or most 1st teamer's. The drop in standard when someone is injured is just too big.

Dennis Shaw 914Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:11:45

I was worried for a time in this game when I saw Pienaar signalling to the bench, holding his hamstring; it turned out 5 minutes later he was obviously referring to Mirallas... but just think: it really could have been worse today.

Even more worrying — he sent Naismith on to warm up.

Steavey Buckley 916Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:12:52

Robin Cannon: It was a bitterly cold day and Mirallas was probably keen do well. Not the best combination for his comeback from the start. Bearing in mind, Everton have a far more important game on Wednesday against WBA. And probably, no Mirallas or even Coleman. The ideal players for the right hand side. And WBA don't have a FA cup game.

Sam Hoare 919Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:27:08

Amazing that people manage to blame Moyes for this! He had already said pre match how worried they had been about it and they had sent him to specialists and given him more time to recover than they normally would. Caution had been taken but he had to come back some time. Sometimes shit just happens.

Good result through an average performance from a slightly jaded looked team with a threadbare squad and 2 more games quickly following.

Dennis Shaw 920Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:32:13

Can't believe he pulled his hamstring again... I didn't see him do much running.

Bobby Mallon 922Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:38:37

We need to sell him ASAP: injury-prone — the same as Owen. Once your hamstrings go the way his has, there is no way back.

Brendan McLaughlin 925Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:53:06

So Bobbby #922If you know.............

Derek Thomas 929Posted
26/01/2013 at
21:39:31

Lyndon (#895): from personal experience and observation over the years it is no surprise to me that Kevin's hamstring came soon after ratboys challenge.

In the leg there are groups and areas of muscle and tendons that do specific jobs, but they are all interlinked and support each other for the benefit of the whole. Simplistically, A bit like a team, you can 'carry' one player or tendon but only so much and so far. What happens is player Ham String is pulled so far out of position covering for player Knee Muscles or whatever and is over-stretched, a bit like a fullback covering a centre-back to the detriment of his own position. As I said, a bit simplistic and holistic but understandable.

Or he might be ok in the Greek League but here in the Prem he's a serial sicknote.

Mark Wilson 945Posted
26/01/2013 at
22:23:47

The problem really isn't Kevin's hamstring. These injuries happen and I don't get why so many question the EFC medical team. Mirallas has seen one of best "hamstring" docs in the world, he's been out for months, judging a return from this injury is second only to the cruciate type injury in terms of how hard it is to get it right. I suspect the guy will be missing until April, if we are lucky, unless its just that the hamstring was tight and he was under pain of death orders not to soldier on if he let it.....

Nope, the real issue is the tiny tiny squad, it's ok I think to compete for mid table and avoid relegation battles, but this Mirallas thing highlights how pathetic it all is.....from DM down, fans inc, we are all desperate to have the creativity of Mirallas because we know there is virtually no plan B should some be struggling form wise or missing through suspension and injury. We knew this in August. Our good start just hid the issue but the last few games have brought it back into sharp focus. I don't understand why we won't gamble £15m of next years increased TV money or the inevitable Felli transfer funds and get three in now. I'd gamble on a couple of lower leaguers like Austin if he's back from his own injury, the lad from a chesterfield and yes, Tom Ince. I'd try one last time for Donovan. And what has happened to Vadis ?

Next two home games huge and hoping for another good FA Cup draw tomorrow.

Jamie Barlow 946Posted
26/01/2013 at
22:38:20

I'd say today's game was more important Steavey.

We could lose or draw against West Brom and still finish in the same league position. It'd piss me off but it wouldn't be the end of our season.

Chris Matheson 009Posted
27/01/2013 at
08:28:03

I am with Simon at 872 on the Suarez business and, unusually, disagree with Lyndon. After the foul, he was favouring his injured leg and that puts more pressure on the good one. Ker-twang!!! there went his hamstring. I think that's what Derek is also saying above.

Suarez is a vile, cynical cheat. And on this occasion his cheating paid dividends big time.

Col Noon 849Posted
28/01/2013 at
21:03:28

I was at the match and it was clear from the off that he was not up to full speed. He didn't seem to be moving freely at all. He still looked like the only player in a blue shirt that was willing to carry the ball forward and take a shot at goal.

I agree with the Gibson shouts, he collects the ball off the centre backs and when he is in the team we are 100% better with the ball. Osman, Fellaini and Neville have been chronic in the last two games when playing CM. Let's hope this Dutch kid can add some much needed spark and quality to what looks like an average Everton side once again.

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